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(x) = , with the same sign of innity from both sides. If f is increasing, this sign
is +, and if f is decreasing, this sign is . Geometrically, points of vertical tangent behave a
lot like points of inection (in the sense that the tangent line cuts through the graph). Think x
1/3
.
(4) We say that f has a vertical cusp at the point c if f is continuous (and nite) at c and lim
xc
f
(x)
and lim
xc
+ f
(x) are innities of opposite sign. In other words, f takes a sharp about-turn at the
x-value of c. Think x
2/3
.
(5) We say that f is asymptotic to g if lim
x
f(x) g(x) = lim
x
f(x) g(x) = 0. In other words,
the graphs of f and g come progressively closer as |x| becomes larger. (We can also talk of one-sided
asymptoticity, i.e., asymptotic only in the positive direction or only in the negative direction). When
g is a nonconstant linear function, we say that f has an oblique asymptote. Horizontal asymptotes
are a special case, where one of the functions is a constant function.
Actions...
(1) Finding the horizontal asymptotes involves computing limits as the domain value goes to innity.
Finding the vertical asymptotes involves locating points in the domain, or the boundary of the
domain, where the function limits o to innity. For both of these, it is useful to remember the
various rules for limits related to innities.
(2) Remember that for a vertical tangent or vertical cusp at a point, it is necessary that the function
be continuous (and take a nite value). So, we not only need to nd the points where the derivative
goes o to innity, we also need to make sure those are points where the function is continuous.
Thus, for the function f(x) = 1/x, f
is increasing on I. I hope you remember the denition of an increasing function: it means that for two
points x
1
, x
2
I, with x
1
< x
2
, we have f
(x
1
) < f
(x
2
).
Heres three points:
(1) If f itself is increasing (so that f
is increasing by
looking at f
. Specically, if f
is continuous on I, and f
is decreasing
on the interval I. I hope you remember the denition of a decreasing function: it means that for two points
x
1
, x
2
I, with x
1
< x
2
, we have f
(x
1
) > f
(x
2
).
Heres three points:
(1) If f itself is decreasing (so that f
is increasing by
looking at f
. Specically, if f
is continuous on I, and f
,
we have that for a point of inection, either f
= 0 or f
(x), we get 3x
2
.
Note that the function 3x
2
is positive for x = 0, and is 0 at x = 0. So, from our prior discussion of increasing
and decreasing functions, we see that f is increasing on (, 0] and then again on [0, ). And since the
point 0 is common to the two intervals, f is in fact increasing everywhere on (, ).
If you remember, this was an important and somewhat weird example because, although f
(0) = 0, f
does not attain a local extreme value at 0. This is because the derivative of f is positive on both sides of 0.
4
This was the picture we had from our earlier analysis. But now, with the concepts of concave up, concave
down, and points of inection, we can get a better understanding of whats going on. Specically, we see
that the second derivative f
is 6x, which is negative for x < 0, zero for x = 0, and positive for x > 0. Thus,
f is concave down for x < 0, x = 0 is a point of inection, and f is concave up for x > 0.
So, heres the picture: for x < 0, f is negative, f
is positive, and f
is positive, and f
, so it is a point of inection
for f.
The main thing you should remember is that when we have a critical point for a function, where the
derivative is zero, but it is neither a point of local maximum nor a point of local minimum, then it is likely
to be a point of inection. In other words, this idea of something that is increasing (or decreasing) and
momentarily stops in its tracks, is the picture of neither a local maximum nor a local minimum but a point
of inection.
1.4. Points of inection where the derivative is not zero.
Lets review the graph of the sine function. The sine function starts with sin(0) = 0, goes up from 0 to
/2, where it reaches the value 1, then drops down to 0, drops down further to 1 at 3/2, and then turns
back up to reach 0 at 2. And this pattern repeats periodically.
5
So far, youve taken me on faith about the way the graph curves. But we can now start looking at things
in terms of concave up and concave down.
The derivative of the sin function is the cos function. Lets graph the cos function. This starts with the
value 1 at x = 0, goes down to zero at x = /2, dips down to 1 at x = , goes back up to 0 at x = 3/2,
and then goes up to 1 at x = 2.
We see that cos is positive from 0 to /2, and sin is increasing on that interval. cos is negative from
/2 to 3/2, and sin is decreasing on that interval. cos is again positive from 3/2 to 2, and sin is again
increasing on that interval.
Next, we want to know where sin is concave up and where it is concave down. And for this, we look at
the second derivative of sin, which is the function sin. As you know, the graph of this function is the same
as the graph of sin, but ipped about the x-axis. This means that where sin is positive, its second derivative
is negative, and where sin is negative, its second derivative is positive.
So, from the interval between 0 and , sin is concave down and on the interval between and 2, sin is
concave up. Breaking the interval down further, sin is increasing and concave down on (0, /2), decreasing
and concave down on (/2, ), decreasing and concave up on (, 3/2), and increasing and concave up on
(3/2, 2). The behavior repeats periodically.
Now, lets concentrate on the points of inection. Note that the sense of concavity changes at multiples
of at the point 0, the function changes from concave up to concave down. At the point , the function
changes from concave down to concave up. Another way of thinking about this is that just before , the
function is decreasing at an increasing rate it is becoming progressively steeper. But from onwards, it
starts decreasing at a decreasing rate, in the sense that it starts becoming less steep. So is the point where
the way the tangent line is turning starts changing.
1.5. A graphical characterization of inection points. Inection points are graphically special because
they are points where the way the tangent line is turning changes sense. Theres a related characterization. If
you draw the tangent line through an inection point, the tangent line cuts through the curve. Equivalently,
the curve crosses the tangent line. This is opposed to any other point, where the curve locally lies to one
side of the tangent line.
For instance, for the cube function f(x) := x
3
, the tangent line is the x-axis, and the curve crosses the
x-axis at x = 0. We see something similar for the tangent lines at the points of inection 0 and for the sin
function.
1.6. Third and higher derivatives: exploration. (I may not get time to cover this in class).
A while ago, we had developed criteria to determine whether a critical point is a point where a local
extreme value is attained. We discussed two tests that could be used: the rst derivative test and the second
derivative test. The rst derivative test said that if f
and and f
(x) = 5x
4
, f
(x) = 20x
3
, f
(x) = 60x
2
,
f
(4)
(x) = 120x, and f
(5)
(x) = 120. At c = 0, f
(5)
is the rst nonzero derivative.
Now, 0 is a point at which f
(4)
= 0 and f
(5)
> 0. Thus, by the second derivative test, 0 is a point of
local minimum for f
(3)
. So, 0 is a point of inection for f
(2)
, by point (2) above. Thus, 0 is a point of local
minimum for f
, by point (1) above. Thus, 0 is a point of inection for f, by point (2) above.
So, the upshot of this is the alternating behavior between derivatives.
1.7. Higher derivative tests. The discussion above gives a practical criterion to simply use evaluation of
derivatives to determine whether a critical point, where a function is innitely dierentiable, is a point of
local maximum, point of local minimum, point of inection, or none of these.
Suppose f is an innitely dierentiable function around a critical point c for f.. Let k be the smallest
integer for which f
(k)
(c) = 0 and let L be the nonzero value of the k
th
derivative. Then:
(1) If k is odd, then c is a point of inection for f and hence neither a point of local maximum nor a
point of local minimum.
(2) If k is even and L > 0, then c is a point of local minimum for f.
(3) If k is even and L < 0, then c is a point of local maximum for f.
For instance, for the power function f(x) := x
n
, n 2. 0 is a critical point and f is innitely dierentiable.
In this case, c = 0, k = n, and L = n! > 0. Thus, if n is even, then f does attain a local minimum at 0. if n
is odd, 0 is a point of inection. In this simple situation, we could have deduced this directly from the rst
derivative test for n even, the rst derivative changes sign fron negative to positive at 0, because n 1 is
odd. For n odd, n 1 is even, so the rst derivative has positive sign on both sides of 0. However, the good
news is that this general method is applicable for other situations where the rst derivative test is harder to
apply.
1.8. Notion of concave up and concave down for one-sided dierentiable. So far, we have dened
the notion of concave up and concave down on an interval assmuing the function is dierentiable everywhere
on the interval. In higher mathematics, a somewhat more general denition is used, and this makes sense
for functions that have one-sided derivatives everywhere.
Note: Please, please, please, please make sure you understand this clearly: we can calculate the left-hand
derivative and right-hand derivative using the formal expressions only after we have checked that the function
is continuous from that side! If there is a piecewise description of the function and it is not continuous from
one side where the denition is changing, then the corresponding one-sided derivative is not, repeat not
dened.
Suppose f is a function on an interval I = (a, b) such that both the left-hand derivative and the right-hand
derivative of f are dened everywhere on I. Note that both one-sided derivatives being dened at every point
in particular means that the function is continuous at each point, and hence on I. However, f need not be
7
dierentiable at every point, because it is possible that the left-hand derivative and right-hand derivative
dier at dierent points.
We then say that:
(1) f is concave up if, at every point, the right-hand derivative is greater than or equal to the left-hand
derivative, and both one-sided derivative are increasing functions on R.
(2) f is concave down if, at every point, the right-hand derivative is less than or equal to the left-hand
derivative, and both one-sided derivatives are decreasing functions on R.
For instance, rst consider the function f on (0, ):
f(x) := {
x
2
, 0 < x 1
x
3
, 1 < x
Before we proceed further, we check/note that the function is continuous at 1. Indeed it is. Hence, to
calculate the left-hand derivative and right-hand derivative at 1, we can formally dierentiate the expressions
at 1. We obtain that the left-hand derivative at 1 is 2 1 = 2 and the right-hand derivative at 1 is 3 1
2
= 3.
We thus obtain the following piecewise denitions for the left-hand derivative and right-hand derivative:
LHD of f at x = {
2x, 0 < x 1
3x
2
, 1 < x
and:
RHD of f at x = {
2x, 0 < x < 1
3x
2
, 1 x
The derivative is undened at 1. Note that both one-sided derivatives are increasing everywhere, and at
the point 1, where the function is not dierentiable, the right-hand derivative is bigger. Thus, the function
is concave up on (0, ).
Heres the graph, with dashed lines indicating the one-sided derivatives:
On the other hand, consider the function g on (0, ):
g(x) := {
x
3
, 0 < x 1
x
2
, 1 < x
8
The function g is continuous and has one-sided derivatives everywhere. Also note that on the intervals
(0, 1) and (1, ), g is concave up. However, at the critical point 1 where g
(x)?
As a general rule, nothing, but in most of the situations that we see, it turns out that f
(x) = . Also, if
lim
xc
+ f(x) = , then it is likely that lim
xc
+ f
(x) = .
(2) lim
xc
f(x) = from both sides. An example of this is the function f(x) = 1/x
2
with c = 0.
The vertical asymptote is the y-axis, i.e., the line x = 0. In this case, and in most other representative
examples, lim
xc
f(x) = , and lim
xc
+ f(x) = +.
1
More precisely, it turns out that if f
(x) = +.
11
(4) lim
xc
f(x) = and lim
xc
+ f(x) = . Examples include f = cot at c = 0 and f(x) := 1/x at
c = 0. In both these cases, as in most others, lim
xc
f
(x) = .
2.2. Horizontal asymptotes. Horizontal asymptotes are horizontal lines that the graph comes closer and
closer to, just as vertical asymptotes are vertical lines that the graph comes closer and closer to.
We saw that vertical asymptotes arose when the range value was approaching for a nite limiting
value of the domain. Horizontal asymptotes arise where the domain value approaches for a nite limiting
value of the range.
Explicitly, if lim
x
f(x) = L (with L a nite number), then the line y = L is a horizontal asymptote
for the graph of f, because as x , the graph comes closer and closer to this horizontal line. Similarly,
if lim
x
f(x) = M, then the line y = M is a horizontal asymptote for the graph of f. Thus, a function
whose domain extends to innity in both directions could have zero, one, or two horizontal asymptotes.
12
We will discuss some of the computational aspects of vertical and horizontal asymptotes in the problem
sessions. Later in the lecture, and in the addendum, we look at some computational tips and guidelines over
and above what is there in the book.
2.3. Vertical tangents. A vertical tangent to the graph of a function f occurs at a point (c, f(c)) if f is
continuous but not dierentiable at c, and lim
xc
f
(x) = + or lim
xc
f
(x) = but does not have a vertical tangent at zero because the function is undened at zero.
2.4. Vertical cusps. A vertical cusp in the graph of f occurs at a point c if f is continuous at c, and both
one-sided limits of f
(x) = but does not have a vertical tangent at zero because the
function is undened at zero.
3. Computational aspects
3.1. Computing limits at innity: a review. We review the main results that you have probably seen
and add some more:
(1) ()() =. In other words, if lim
xc
f(x) = and lim
xc
g(x) = , then lim
xc
f(x)g(x) =
. c could be nite or here, and we could take one-sided limits instead.
14
(2) ()() =, and ()() =.
(3) (a)() =if a > 0 and (a)() =if a < 0. Similarly, (a)() =
if a > 0 and (a)() = if a < 0.
(4) The previous point can be generalized somewhat: ( ), times a function that eventually has a
positive lower bound (even if it keeps oscillating), is also . Analogous results hold for negative
upper bounds.
(5) (0)() is an indeterminate form: it is not clear what it tends to without doing more work.
(6) () + () =.
(7) () + (a) = where a is nite. More generally, plus anything that is bounded from
below is also .
(8) () () and () + () are indeterminate forms.
Apart from this, the main facts you need to remember are that if a > 0, then lim
x
x
a
= and
lim
x
x
a
= lim
x
x
a
= 0. Note that this holds regardless of whether a is an integer.
When a is an odd integer or a rational number with odd numerator and odd denominator, lim
x
x
a
=
. When a is an even integer or a rational number with even numerator and odd denominator, lim
x
x
a
=
.
Also worth noting: lim
x0
+ x
a
= for a > 0 and lim
x0
x
a
= lim
x
x
a
, which is computed by
the rule above.
We can use these facts to explain most of the limits involving polynomial and rational functions. Earlier,
we had noted that when calculating the limit of a polynomial, it is enough to calculate the limit of its leading
monomial. Lets now see why.
Consider the function f(x) := x
7
5x
5
+3x+2. Then, we can write f(x) = x
7
1 5x
2
+ 3x
6
+ 2x
7
.
The expression on the inside is 1 plus various negative powers of x. Each of those negative powers of x goes
to 0 as x . So, we obtain:
lim
x
[1 5x
2
+ 3x
6
+ 2x
7
] = 1
We also have lim
x
x
7
= . Thus, the limit of the product is .
Lets now consider an example of a rational function:
9x
3
3x + 2
103x
2
17x 99
Earlier, we had discussed that when computing such limits at , we can simply calculate thel imits of
the leading terms and ignore the rest. We now have a better understanding of the rationale behind this.
Formally:
lim
x
9x
3
3x + 2
103x
2
17x 99
= lim
x
x
3
(9 3x
2
+ 2x
3
)
x
2
(103 17x
1
99x
2
)
=limx x lim
x
9 3x
2
+ 2x
3
103 17x
1
99x
2
= lim
x
x
9
103
= +
More generally, we see that if the degree of the numerator is greater than the degree of the denominator,
the fraction approaches as x , with the sign depending on the signs of the leading coecients
and the parity (even versus odd) of the exponents.
If the numerator and denominator have equal degree, the limit is a nite number. For x , it is
the ratio of the leading coecients (notice that it is the same on both sides). This is the case where we get
horizontal asymptotes. In this case, the horizontal asymptotes on both ends coincide.
For instance:
15
lim
x
2x
2
3x + 5
23x
2
x 1
= lim
x
x
2
(2 3x
1
+ 5x
2
)
x
2
(23 x
1
x
2
)
= lim
x
x
2
x
2
lim
x
2 3x
1
+ 5x
2
23 x
1
x
2
=1
2
23
=
2
23
Finally, when the degree of the numerator is less than the degree of the denominator, then the fraction
tends to 0 as x and also tends to 0 as x . Thus, in this case, we get the x-axis as the horizontal
asymptote on both sides.
3.2. The 1/x substitution trick.
Consider the limit:
lim
x
xsin(1/x)
This limit cannot be computed by plugging in values, because x and 1/x 0, so sin(1/x) 0,
and we get the indeterminate form ( )( 0). The approach we use here is to set t = 1/x. As x ,
t 0
+
. Since t = 1/x, we get x = 1/t. Plugging in, we get:
lim
t0
+
sint
t
This limit is 1, as we know well.
Note that with this general substitution, limits to innity correspond to right-hand limits at 0 for the
reciprocal and limits at correspond to left-hand limits at 0 for the reciprocal. If there is a two-sided
limit at 0 for the reciprocal, the limits at are the same. In fact, in the xsin(1/x) example, the limits at
and are both 1 since lim
t0
sint/t = 1.
3.3. Dierence of square roots. Consider the limit:
lim
x
(
x + 1
x)
There are many ways to compute this limit, but the easiest is to use the general 1/x substitution trick.
Let t = 1/x. Then the above limit becomes:
lim
t0
+
t + 1 1
t
This is an indeterminate form (specically, a 0/0 form). However, we can do the rationalization trick and
rewrite this as:
16
lim
t0
+
t
t(
t + 1 + 1)
The t and
t cancel to give a
t in the numerator, and we can evaluate and nd the limit to be 0.
A similar approach can be used to handle, for instance, a dierence of cube roots.
3.4. Combinations of polynomial and trigonometric functions. We illustrate using some examples:
(1) Consider the function f(x) := x + 25 sinx. As x , this is the sum of a function that tends to
innity and a function that oscillates. The oscillating component, however, has a nite lower bound,
and hence, lim
x
f(x) = . Similarly, lim
x
f(x) = .
(2) Consider the function f(x) := xsinx. As x , this is the product of a function that goes to
and a function that oscillates between 1 and 1. The oscillating part causes the sign of the
whole expression to shift, and so as x , f(x) is oscillating with an ever-increasing magnitude of
oscillation. A similar observation holds for x .
(3) Consider the function f(x) := x(3 + sinx) As x , this is the product of a function that tends
to and a function that oscillates between 2 and 4. The important point here is that the latter
oscillation has a positive lower bound, so the product still tends to .
(4) Consider the function f(x) := xsin(1/x). As x , this is the product of a function that tends to
and a function that tends to 0, so it is an indeterminate form. We already discussed above how
this particular indeterminate form can be handled.
17